Summary
A jarring, wild, and insane first episode leaves you speechless. Fishback commands your attention, and you never look away.
We recap the Prime Video series Swarm Season 1 Episode 1, “Stung,” which contains spoilers.
From the creators Donald Glover and Janine Nabers comes Swarm, a series based on one person’s obsession with a pop star starring Dominique Fishback in the lead role. The series isn’t based on a true story, but Glover noted that the story is based on bits and pieces of real events.
Swarm Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
The episode begins with a warning on the screen that states, “this is not a work of fiction” and “any similarity to actual persons, live or dead, or actual events, is intentional,” followed by “Houston, Texas, April 2016”. After hearing “who is your favorite artist,” we get an opening montage of Ni’Jah, with Dre trying to buy tickets to her show. The only tickets available were $1800, and she bought them with a brand-new credit card she got in the mail.
Dre’s roommate/sister Marissa is excited because she found out she is doing Drama Queen’s makeup for her show in Houston. They both seem eager, but she asks Dre to cover for her. Later that day, Khalid approaches Dre about Marissa’s birthday coming up. He wants to set something up, but she tells him she bought tickets for the Ni’Jah concert. Of course, he questions how she got the tickets, and her response is, “it’s Ni’Jah, and you have to make sacrifices.”
Who is Ni’Jah?
Ni’Jah is an artist we meet early in the episode with whom Dre and millions of other fans are obsessed. She is the ‘it’ star of the time, and anytime she releases something, the world goes crazy. In this episode, we find out that Ni’Jah is who Dre is obsessed with and hopes to one day meet and get invited back to her house. Ni’Jah is Dre’s entire life.
Dre arrives late to work the following day, and Marissa freaks out. She takes her to the bathroom, cleans her up, and tells her to play it cool because Erica (their boss) would never let Marissa leave Dre in charge. Later, Khalid shows up to work to ask Dre what perfume Marissa likes. However, as this happens, she returns to the booth, which has been completely ransacked. She calls Marissa, who is not happy.
When they get home, Marissa tells Dre she will stay the night at Khalid’s house. Dre questions her, but Marissa says she thinks it might be time for her to move in with him. Then, Dre tries to steer the conversation in her direction by saying she bought Ni’Jah tickets for them for her birthday. However, Marissa tells her she is going to Atlanta with Dre for her birthday. This leads to Dre breaking down and telling her that Khalid is not good for her. Finally, Marissa storms out and leaves Dre alone.
READ: Is Swarm based on a true story?
Her sadness is short-lived when Ni’Jah drops a new song, and she freaks out. It leads to her dressing up and heading to the club. A montage follows with Dre dancing, kissing, and having a good time in the club. She awakens the following morning in a stranger’s bed. She plugs her dead phone in and finds out that Marissa called her a million times to get her to pick her up because Khalid had cheated on her.
Who dies in Stung?
Marrisa dies of an apparent overdose. Upon coming home, Dre grabs the mail, where she sees the Ni’Jah tickets. She plans to cheer Marissa up with the news when she enters the house. However, when she gets into the bed with her, she isn’t moving, and she tries to shake her awake. Next, we move to the hospital, where she learns that Marrisa has died.
Now, we see a bunch of movers inside Dre and Marrisa’s house, moving some stuff out. She is at the store and drops a glass bottle on the floor. We see Dre pick up a piece of the glass and crush it into her hand, making herself bleed. Back at the apartment, we see her watching old videos of Marissa. She texts Marissa, “I miss you,” and she hears her phone vibrate, and she texts from Marissa’s phone, “I miss you.”
Swarm Season 1 Episode 1 Ending Explained
As Khalid asks Dre if she wants some tea, he heads to make some for her. While he does, Dre grabs a lamp and hits him from behind in the head with it. He falls, and she gets on top of him and hits him repeatedly with it. We see her get up and covered in blood, frantically trying to catch her breath as the episode ends.
What did you think of Swarm Season 1 Episode 1? Comment below.
